Pneumatic cleaner



My w, 1938. D. B. REPLOGLE 2,123,9 2

PNEUMAT I C CLEANER Filed Dec. 2, 1950 Patented July 19, 1933 PATENT OFFICE 2,123,912 PNEUIVIATIQ CLEANER Daniel Benson Replogle, Berkeley, Calif., assignor to The Ohio Citizens Trust Company, Toledo, Ohio, a. corporation of Ohio, as trustee Application. December 2, 1930, Serial No. 499,575

8 Claims.

The invention relates to pneumatic cleaners. and more particularly to manually portable suction cleaners, including a floor tool, suction producing means, a hinged handle, and a dust collector bag carried by the handle. In cleaners of this type as at present employed, the mouth of the dust collector bag is generally secured directly to the exhaust outlet of the fan casing, while the bag itself is carried by the hinged handle of the cleaner. Accordingly, when the handle is swung upwardly or downwardly, carrying with it the bag, a strain is exerted upon the neck of the bag adjacent the mouth. For this reason dust collectors composed of paper alone have generally been found inadequate, since there is danger of the paper splitting-or breaking at the point where the strain is exerted, and accordingly more expensive bags composed of fine mesh cloth are frequently employed, or a cloth or like cover is used in conjunction with an inner paper bag. Where cloth bags are employed as the filtering means, such bags are generally too expensive to be thrown away when filled with dust, as may be done where a paper bag is employed, and accordingly it is necessary to empty the dust from such bags, which is an unsanitary proceeding. Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to eliminate strain upon the neck of a dust collector bag carried by the swinging handle of a pneumatic cleaner, this being preferably accomplished according to the present embodiment of the invention by providing a flexible hollow conduit between the mouth of the 5 dust collector and the exhaust outlet of the fan casing, and by so locating the hinge of the handle that the distance between the inlet mouth of the dust collector and the axis of flexure of the hollow conduit remains substantially constant 40 when the handle and dust collector bag carried thereby are swung with reference to the suction producing means. To accomplish this result the hinge of the handle is so mounted that its axis will passbetween the planes of the ends of the hollow conduit, and preferably will pass through substantially the geometrical center of the conduit;

A further object of the invention is to so improve suction cleaners of the general type illus- 50 .trated in my prior Patents Nos. 1,292,963, dated January 28, 1919,.and 1,338,791, dated May 4,

1920, in which a hollow handle is flexibly con-' nected to a cleaning tool, that a paper. dust collector may be used in connection therewith with- 55 out strain upon the dust collector bag.

Further objects of the invention will be ap-, parent from a consideration of the accompanying drawing and the following'detailed description.

The drawing is to beconsidered as largely di-' 5 agrammatic in character, and as illustrative of the invention, rather than as limiting the invention to the specific details therein set forth.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly'in central 10 cross section, and with parts broken away, illus trating one embodiment of the'inventibn;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same, with the indicator cap valve member removed, and with upper and lower portions of the apparatus 15 broken away;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale diagrammatically illustrating the entire appara tus;

Figure 3a is a view showing amodiflcation of 20 Figure 3, in which the hose connector 22 is omitted and in which the handle D"' may be solid instead of hollow as in Figure 3.

Figs. 4 and 5 are top and side detail views respectively of the indicator valve member; 25

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the parts of the apparatus include generally a source of'suction A, an indicator valve B which may be set in either of two directions so as to place30 the suction producing means in communication with either a floor tool C or a hollow handle 1). The dust drawn through either the floor tool or the hollow handle is discharged into a dust bag E. This general arrangement of parts is similar to that set forth in my Reissue Patent No. 16,224.

Referring to the parts in greater detail, with particular reference to Fig. 1, the reference numeral l0 denotes a motor housing within which. is mounted a suitable motor, not shown, on the shaft ll of which motor is mounted a fan i2 contained within a suitable casing it having a discharge pipe Mopening into a flexible hose 25, which communicates with the dust collector E.

' The fan casing 13 may be supported upon suitable rollers i9, which may, if desired, be of a type similar to that, described in my Patent No. 1,541,280, dated June 9, 1925'. The motor housing may be supported upon one or more rear rollers il'.

The valve B is provided with a bottom opening l5 communicating with the fan casing and with a side opening it, which may beiturned to communicate with either of two conduit arms 20 or 2|, according as suction is to be produced within the floor tool C or the hollow handle D. The valve may be provided with a transparent top, in order that the interior may be visible, and may carry a suitable indicator arrow I8, the head of which arrow points in the direction of the valve opening l6.

The floor tool may be of any suitable type and is preferably removably connected to the conduit arm '20 of the valve casing. To the other conduit arm 2| of the valve casing, a short flexible hose 22 is adapted to be removably connected as at 23, the other end of the hose being carried by a collar 'or connector 24 which provides a fluid-tight Joint between the hose and the suction handle D. The connector 24, as shown, is carried upon a swinging arm 26, which is split to provide forks 21 which straddle the flexible hose 25, and which are hingedly connected at 28 to bracket arms 29 rigidly carried by a suitable portion of the frame of the machine, as herein illustrated, the fan casing. As shown, the position of the hinge 28 is such that its axis passes substantially through the center of the flexible hose 25.

As previously described, the flexible hose 25 is connected to a discharge opening H of the fan casing I3, and leads thence into the dust discharge bag E. The bag is provided with a reduced opening 30, which may be connected to the flexible tube in any suitable manner, as by a rub-' ber band or the like 3|, in a. manner similar to that described in my Patent No. 1,416,876. The opposite end of the dust collector may be provided with a clamp 32 which is connected through a suitable fastening means 33, which may be a spring or the like, to an attaching hook or other fastening element 34 on the tubular handleD, in a manner similar to that described in my Patent No. 1,292,963.

An electric conduit or cord 35 for supplying current to the electric motor may be supported by a suitable bracket 36 mounted on the connector 24,

,and at the end of the" cord a plug 31 is formed,

adapted to fit into a socket 38 in the motor housing. The inlet end of the bag is supported by an elastic loop 39' carried by a hook 40' on the connector 24.

The operation of the device will be evident from the foregoing description, but may be briefly summarized as follows:

When' the motor is started, the fan l2 produces suction which may be made effective for cleaning purposes either through the floor tool C or through the suction handle D, depending on the position of the indicator valve 3, and the dust laden air, drawn in by the fan is discharged through the flexible conduit 25 into the dust bag E. When the suction is through the floor tool, the hose 22 connecting with the hollow handle D is removed and it is then possible to freely tilt the handle without placing any strain either upon the flexible conduit 25 or upon the dust collector E. In this manner the apparatus may be used to clean under furniture by suitably lowering the handle to the desired extent. When the suction handle D is to be used for cleaning purposes, the flexible hose- 22 is replaced and the valve B turned so that the indicator arrow points toward the suction handle. Any suitable attachments may be applied to the end of the suction handle, as indicated for example in my Patent No. 1,533,271, dated April 15,1925.

The'flexibility of the hose" and 25 and the hinged mounting of the suction handle permits such swinging movement of the handle as is necessary or desirable in various cleaning operations where the suction handle is employed. Thus it is possible to swing the suction handle practically to the vertical position while still supported upon the base provided by the rollers I! In this manner cleaning of high objects is facilitated.

While as herein shown, a hollow suction handle is employed, it is obvious that where the floor tool alone is to be used, and the flexible hose 22 is omitted, a solid handle. may be employed in place of the hollow or suction handle. Under -'such circumstances it is not necessary to employ a rotatable valve, as the floor tool will be in constant communication with the source of suction. The present invention, therefore, is applicable to cleaners of either the solid or suction handle type.

What I claim is:

1. A portable suction cleaner, including a cleaning tool, suction producing means including a fan adapted to be operatively connected to the cleaning tool, a fan casing having an exhaust outlet, a bracket carried by said casing, a handle hingedly connected to said bracket, a flexible inexpensive porous dust collecting bag composed of material which is readily torn if subjected to strain carried' by the handle, and a flexible hose interposed between the mouth of the dust collector and the exhaust outlet, the axis of the hinge of the handle passing through the flexible hose.

2. A portable suction cleaner, including a frame, a floor tool carried by the frame, a hollow "through the flexible conduit between the dust bag and exhaust outlet.

3. A portable suction cleaner, comprising a cleaning tool, suction producing means adapted to be operatively connected to the cleaningtool, a casing for said suction producing means having an exhaust outlet, a handle for said cleaner, a dust collector carried by the handle, a flexible conduit connecting the mouth of the dust collector and the exhaust outlet, and means for movably mounting the handle with respect to the suction producing means, comprising a pair of bracket arms carried by said casing and extending rearwardly therefrom, straddling said flexible conduit, 9. socket member for receiving said handle, and a second pair of bracket arms carried by said socket member and hingedly connected to the first pair of bracket arms.

4. In a suction cleaner, a frame; suction .producing means carried by the frame, and having an exhaust outlet, a cleaning tool adapted to be operatively connected to the source of suction, a handle movably mounted with reference to the frame,

a dust collector body composed of material which exhaust outlet, a forked bracket carried by said frame and extending in a generally upward direction therefrom, a socket member for receiving said handle, and a second forked bracket carried by said socket member and hingedly connected to the first bracket, the axis of the hinge passing through the flexible connection.-

5. A suction cleaner having a handle, suction 5 producing means having an outlet for dust laden air, a porous paper dust filter bag carried by said handle and having an inlet mouth, a flexible hollow conduit operatively connecting said inlet mouth and outlet, and means for hingedly mounting said handle with reference to said suction producing means so that the distance between said inlet mouth and any selected point along the axis or the conduit remains substantially constant when the handle and dust collector bag carried thereby are I producing means, whereby strain on said dust filter is minimized.

. .6. A suction cleaner having a handle, suction producing means having an outlet for dust laden no air, a porous paper dust filter bag carried by said handle and having an inlet mouth, a flexible hoiiow conduit operatively connecting said inlet mouth and outlet, and means for hingedly mountin: said handiewith reference to said suction pro- 25 ducing means'zso that the distance between said inlet mouth and the geometrical center or said conduit remains substantially constant when the swung with reference to the suction handle and dust collector bag carried thereby are swung with reference to the suction producing means, whereby strain-on said dust filter is minimized.

7. A portable suction cleaner having a handle,

suction producing means having an outlet for dust flexible hollow conduit operatively connecting said inlet mouth and outlet, and means for hingedly mounting said handle so that the axis of the hinge passes through the conduit, whereby strain on the dust filter is minimized when the handle is swung about its axis.

8. A portable suctioncleaner having a'handie, suction producing means having-an outlet for dust laden air, a porous paper dust filter bag carried by said handle and having an inlet mouth, a flexible hollow hose operatively connecting said inlet mouth and outlet, and means-for hingedly mounting said handle so that the axis of the handle hinge lies between the planes of the ends 01' the hollow hose and within or substantially near the axis of the hollow hose, whereby strain on the dust filter is minimized when the handle is swung about-its axis,

. DANIEL BENSON REPIOGLE. 

